United Methodist and Catholic bishops are scheduled as panelists at screenings of “Gospel Without Borders” at Baptist churches in early October.
“GospelWithoutBorders,” on faith and immigration, is the newest documentary produced by EthicsDaily.com.
Al Gwinn, bishop of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, will be a panelist at the Oct. 3 screening at the FirstBaptistChurchofRaleigh, N.C., sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina (CBFNC).
He will be joined by Carlos Arce, vicar for Hispanics in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, and Hector Villanueva, pastor of Iglesia Bautista La Roca in Siler City and a documentary interviewee.
The next week, Luis Zarama, auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Atlanta, will be a panelist at the Oct. 11 screening at SmokeRiseBaptistChurch in Stone Mountain, Ga.
Zarama was one of three Catholic bishops in Georgia to sign a pastoral letter earlier this year noting the deteriorating situation in Georgia.
“[W]e urge our Georgia state representatives to resist the imposition of harsh and unnecessary legislation affecting all residents of Georgia, further tearing apart the fabric of our communities and jeopardizing our future,” read the letter.
Undocumented immigrants “do not deserve harsh treatment as major criminals. As pastors, we find it unacceptable that children are separated from their parents and families, or begin each morning wondering if this is the last day they will see their mother or father or siblings,” said the bishops. “Scripture demands special concern for aliens, strangers and others who are vulnerable.”
Joining Zarama will be Timothy McDonald, pastor, First Iconium Baptist Church, Atlanta; Mimi Walker, co-pastor, Druid Hills Baptist Church, Atlanta; and Lesley Ediger, program manager, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Service of Atlanta.      Â
Also on Oct. 3, “Gospel Without Borders” will be screened at Polk State College in Lakeland, Fla.
Panelists will include: Russell Meyer, executive director, Florida Council of Churches; Richard Logue, director of immigration and refugee services, Catholic Charities of Central Florida; Marco Aguilar, lead IST software developer, Polk County Schools; Murray Dempster, distinguished professor of social ethics, Southeastern University; and Mayra Hidalgo, Polk State College student and advocate for the DREAM Act.
Ray Johnson, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida, will serve as moderator for the event.
On Oct. 12, the documentary will be screened at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. Panelists will include: Nancy Bowen, district executive for the Unitarian Universalists; Miguel De La Torre, documentary interviewee; and Andrew Simpson, district presiding elder, African Episcopal Church.
Future documentary screenings willtakeplace in Georgetown, Ky.; Richmond, Va.; and Oklahoma City.
The first screening occurred Sept. 13 at New Millennium Church in Little Rock, Ark., and was sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas. Panelists included: Charles Crutchfield, bishop, Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church; and Anthony Taylor, bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock. Both Taylor and Crutchfield were documentary interviewees. See news stories here and here.
CBFNC sponsored September screenings at First Baptist Church of Greensboro, N.C., and Providence Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.
“Gospel Without Borders” Trailer from EthicsDaily on Vimeo.
